"An honour to be on the podium with them" - Mathieu van der Poel pays tribute to Filippo Ganna & Tadej Pogacar after winning the greatest Milano-Sanremo of all time
Cycling
For the third straight year, Alpecin-Deceuninck have triumphed at Milano-Sanremo. Mathieu van der Poel's 2025 success however, is likely to go down in history as the greatest victory in the history of the Italian Monument.
On a day packed with drama, Van der Poel proved to be more than a match for everything thrown at him by world champion Tadej Pogacar. Despite the Slovenian's repeated assaults on the Cipressa and the Poggio, Van der Poel was glued to his rival's back wheel. In the final sprint though, the pair were joined by the incredible Filippo Ganna who put in arguably a career best display. There was no stopping Van der Poel though as the Dutchman led from the front and powered towards the winning line first.
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"It's hard to believe," he reflected afterwards. "I was very focused on winning here, but we knew Tadej would be very strong. I felt very good towards the end. The beginning had been terrible with the rain and the cold. I just felt myself getting better and better. A third win in a row with the team. Unique."
"I knew Tadej was the strongest on the climb. On the Cipressa he was impressive. Then the cooperation with the three was good. On the Poggio, Tadej wanted to drop me, but I still felt good. I even hoped to counter, but he was also good enough to bring me back," Van der Poel continues. "I knew the other two wanted to make it a long sprint and they thought I wanted to make it a short sprint, but I surprised them a bit. When I saw the 300-meter sign, I went all out. I felt I still had enough in my legs. It turned out to be the right tactic."
And so, it is yet another Monument win to add to the palmares of Van der Poel. "Winning Milano-Sanremo is special anyway, but it's an honour to be on the podium with them. They are two great riders," the Dutchman concluded, full of warmth for his two rivals.
Tremendo final en el primer monumento del año, la Milán-San Remo, el ganador fue el neerlandés Van Der Poel, seguido de Filippo Ganna y Tadej Pogacar. pic.twitter.com/USFglxp1nR
— TERADEPORTES (@Teradeportes) March 22, 2025
That is an awesome podium alright. King of the classics, time trial demi-god, and the best all round road rider
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- Yes, I think he still has a lot to say in road cycling. In the CX races he showed a very good gear but... the problem was essentially his NERVOUSNESS then he took bad decisions in finding the best strategies and paths. He needs confidence (calm down) and maybe a very good preparation gave him that.
maria2024202425-03-2025 - I don't believe so sadly, much as pulling another rider into that group I think Tadej and MVDP have raised the game so far they are essentially untouchable. The spoils of this season will be split between them, I believe Tadej will take RVV, LBL and Lombardia, MVDP MSR and Roubaix. I'm not even sure Remco will be at their level when he comes back. Tadej and MVDP are just a step above everyone elseslappers6625-03-2025
- Tadej and MVDP bring that panache back to cycling that we missed right through the Armstrong years, the Sky years and to an extent the couple of Visma tour wins. Whole team blocking a race, no attacking, no excitement till the leaders jumped away inslappers6625-03-2025
- Glad to know he's confident now, even though he didn't win; it's true, he never complains but in past interviews he often expressed his insecurity and bewilderment when he hadn't won the gold on the track or a time trial.maria2024202425-03-2025
- Would be so cool. Might not be possible regularly but a few, even Jungels showed glimpses of his past form after going through mental deserts.Jumpyjohn25-03-2025
- Yeah, might not feel like leaving his family or ending up like Senna or Schumacher. I’d have no problems with that, critics might have a tough time, finding a new target to focus on, maybe Remco? He’d be more tricky.Mistermaumau25-03-2025
- This is cycling, no pills ;-)Mistermaumau25-03-2025
- Many have points, often even good, one has to decide and it’s basically binary, either yes or no each time, like with elections, there’re always unhappy people.Jumpyjohn25-03-2025
- Get an educationJumpyjohn25-03-2025
- Certain crashes do that to you, make you think further than just about racing. Nobody is going to give Fabio or Wout or Primoz much stick if they stop being at their level or retire, yet here some keep picking on a “fragile” (yeah, must be, to get to that level in cycling) wiry kid, sounds like schoolyard bullying to me.Jumpyjohn25-03-2025